Improvement in thill-couplings



H. A. LUTTGENS Thill-Coupling. I IND Patented April 13, 1375,

HENRY A. LUTTGENS, OF PATERSON, NEIV J EBSEY.

IMPROVEMENT IN THlLL-COUPLINGS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. l6l,9'73, dated April13,1875; application filed June 4, 1874.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY AUGUSTUS LUTTGENS, of Paterson, in the countyof Passaic and State of New Jersey, have invented a new and ImprovedOarriage-Thill Coupling; and I do hereby declare that the followin g isa full and exact description thereof, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which-Figure I represents a perspective view of the earriage-thill couplingattached to the axle. Fig. II represents a central section of the same,with the thill inserted and with the clip not shown in section. Fig. IIIis a top view of the same, with a portion of the clip omitted. Figs. IV,V, and VI are the clip, packingcover, and thill-iron hook or end shownin detail in perspective; and Fig. VII is a section of a modification ofthe coupling.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in each of theseveral figures.

My invention applies to improvements in the style of carriage-shaft orthill couplings where the end of the thill-iron is hook-shaped andconsists, first, in the peculiar construc-* tion of the box and clip,whereby these are united near the top of the box, thereby dispensingwith the front clip-bolt or limb, and forming, through the combinationof the coupling-box and axle-clip, (bolted together at thecoupling-joint, which latter is united to the end of the axle-clip,) acontinuous band and clamp around the axle, secured by a single bolt atthe rear of the axle, which leaves the coupling in front of the axleopen for the insertion of the thill-iron; second, in so eonstrueting apacking-cover, inserted below the thill-iron and between the thill-ironand packing, that its action is limited, both up and down, by contactwith the lower side of the axle and bottom web of the coupling-box, theextent of its upward movement indicating about the amount to which itcan follow up the wear of the thilliron upon the upper bearing-face ofthe latter. This limited action enables the packing to exert aconsiderable pressure against the under side of the packing-cover, evenbefore the latter is acted upon by the thill-iron, this pressure notdiminishing the opening for the insertion of the thill-iron. Thepacking-cover also securely locks the thill-iron when in position foruse within the coupling, since, when the cover has been acted upon totheextent of its downward movement, it bears with its sides upon the bottomweb of the coupling-box, so as to make the removal of the thill-iron(without change of position) impossible. The cover is supplied with anextension which hooks upon a bar or projection in the rear end of thecoupling-box, whereby it is retained within the coupling.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I willproceed to describe its construction and operation.

The sides B B of the coupling bottom 9 and projection l are made inhalves, as shown in Fig. I, or in one piece, as shown in Fig. VII. Ifthe forward end D of the axle-clip (J is made to fit into the sides B B,and bolted to the same, as shown in Figs. I and IV, it is necessary tomake the sides B B together with the bottom 9 and projection Z inhalves. If the forward end D of clip 0 is perforated then an ordinarybolt or rivet secures the. clip at 0 and sides B B together, in whichcase the sides B B, bottom 9, and projection l are formed into onepiece. The axle-clip G passes over the top of axle A, and, beingprovided with washer m and nut a, it secures the coupling to the axle.The axle-clip 0 may be formed in one with the hook-bearing O, as shownin Fig. VII, or the latter may be made separate and united to the formerby rivets, as shown in Figs. I, II, and IV. The hole, which allows theclip 0 to pass through projection Z of the coupling, is either slotted,as shown in Figs. II and III, and the lower face of the couplinginclined with a similar inclination to the top face of washer m, or theclip 0 passes through an ordinary hole, as shown in Fig. VII, in whichcase the washer may be dispensed with. The end of thill-iron E is formedhook-shaped,

as shown at g, and fitted to the end D of the it and the bottom of axleA at h when the shaft E is in its proper position for use. It is alsomade slanting at 71 to facilitate entering the thill-iron into thecoupling. The sides B B may be provided with projections r 1" upon theinside to form a cover for the opening at the top; also, the bed-piece aupon axle A may be provided with washer or plate 1), Fig. VII, securedto it by woodscrews to protect the face of bed-piece a, where it is incontact with the coupling, or the plate 1? may be eX- tended so as alsoto cover and protect the top and rear of the bed-piece a. The thill-ironE is provided with a staple or slotted hole, 8, to receive asafety-strap, t, which also passes around the axle A.

The thill-coupling may also be constructed with the followingmodifications: First, the projection 21, Fig. VII, may be formed byinserting a small bolt from the bottom. Second, the packing 70 may besubstituted by a spiral or other steel spring, and the depth of thecoupling increased so as to provide space for the spring. Third, theplate or washer 19 (shown in Fig. VII) may be formed on the couplingitself, uniting with the sides 13 B, and may extend so as to form acover for the face of axle A and bed-piece to, leaving the necessaryopening at the bottom for the insertion of the packing-cover h.

The coupling proper may be made of malleable iron, cast-steel, orwrought-iron. If made of wrought-iron the shapes are formed in dies,

so that after the sides B B are bent up the forging of that portion ofthe coupling is (30111- pleted. The packing-cover h may be made ofordinary cast or wrought iron. It may also be case-hardened, as well asthe other parts liable to wear.

The thill-iron E is entered into and held by the coupling in thefollowing manner: The front end of the carriage-shaft or pole is raisedabove its ordinary position, the thill-iron E entered into the openingbetween packingcover h and hook-bearing 0, after which the shaft islowered into its proper position, which causes the heel f of thethill'iron E to compress the packing 70 as it passes into the top ofpacking-cover h. The parts thus held together are made anti-rattling.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-

1. The coupling-box B in combination with axle-clip G D, forming acontinuous band and clamp around the axle A, secured by a single bolt atthe rear of the axle, as set forth.

2. Packing-cover h, interposed between thilliron E and packing 7c, incombination with projection i, axle A, and bottom web 9 of coupling-boxB, substantially as and for the purpose described.

. H. A. LUTTGENS.

Witnesses:

EDWIN GOULD, JOHN L. STAGG.

